Vegetarian Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

An Enchilada is a popular Mexican dish. It comprises of filled and rolled tortilla (flatbread) topped with spicy enchilada sauce, lots of cheese and baked until the cheese melts. You can have umpteen variations for the  Enchilada filling like veggies, beans, meat or a combination. For today’s post I chose to make my Vegetarian Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas that has lots of veggies and black beans as its filling. Its a complete and satiating meal with lots of color and nutritional goodness.  
If you have been following me for a while you probably know I love dishes you can prep and keep ready ahead of time and simply bake/heat and serve when the time comes. This is one of those dishes. Although it has lot of components to it like the sauce, filling, tortilla and cheese, all can be kept ready ahead of time. Thus making this the perfect dish for parties, potlucks or even those busy days when you want to serve something delicious & healthy to your family with minimal effort. 

I made this dish for one of my parties and my friends loved it. Its a regular at home now considering its so easy. If you plan to make it for a party/potluck. You can make the sauce and filling a day ahead and refrigerate. On the day of the party, simply assemble the rolls and place them on the baking tray and cover with a foil or plastic wrap. When the guest are just about to arrive or when you want to serve it. Top  it with sauce, cheese and bake. Garnish with some sour cream, avocados, bell peppers and serve. Its looks really colorful and inviting. Kids and adults both love it. 

Traditionally Enchiladas use corn tortilla but I kind of like the flour tortilla and hence have used those for the recipe. You can use corn or flour as per preference. Enchiladas can be made in couple of ways like some dip the tortilla in sauce and then place the filling on it and roll and the other is the one I’ve shared i.e. pour the sauce on top of the filled and rolled tortillas. Both are good ways and its just a matter of preference. Also the filling can be adjusted to choice I like the bean and veggies combination but you can do it all veggies, all beans or even include meat like chicken if you like. 

Now to the recipe…

Ingredients:
For the Veggie and Black Bean Filling:
1 small onion finely diced (approximately 1/2 cup chopped)
3-4 cloves of garlic minced or finely chopped
1/2 capsicum chopped (used 1/4 each of red and green capsicum)
1/2 cup of zucchini chopped
1/2 cup of yellow squash chopped
1 cup boiled black beans (or you can use canned too) (Refer notes for making boiled beans)
1-2 tbsp corn kernels (using frozen)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp oregano
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (to taste)
lime juice to taste
handful of finely chopped cilantro leaves

For Enchilada: 
6-7 flour tortilla
Veggie and Black Bean Filling  from above
1-2 cups Red Enchilada Sauce (Store bought or Homemade)
2 cups cheese (using Mexican blend of 4 cheese : Monterey Jack, Medium Cheddar,  Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheese) 
some Sour cream, cilantro, chopped avocado and bell pepper for serving/garnishing  (optional)

Method:

For making the Veggie and Black Bean Filling: 

In a vessel, heat oil and add the garlic, saute  for couple of seconds and add the onions. Mix and cook till onions turn translucent. Now add the veggies like red and green capsicum, zucchini, yellow squash, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cover and cook till veggies are 3/4 done. Now add the spices – oregano, cumin and red chilli powder. Mix well and cook for another minute. 

Then add black beans and corn. Cook for another 5 mins. Finally finish it off with some lime juice and cilantro. Mix well and Keep aside

For making the Enchiladas:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Heat the tortilla around 10 seconds each side on a pan or you can do all together at once in a microwave for about 15-20 seconds approximately. Then spread a tbsp of sauce on it. Add the filling and top it with cheese. Roll tightly. 

Spread some sauce onto a casserole/baking dish. Place the filled and rolled tortilla seam-side down onto the casserole. Repeat until all the tortilla are complete. Then pour the sauce over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle generous amount of cheese. Bake for 15-20 mins or until the cheese has melted. Just before serving drizzle some sour cream on top or add it as a side with some red capsicum and avocado

Notes: 

• Soak 1/2 cup of black beans overnight, drain and then add them to the pressure cooker and cook for 1-2 whistles with some salt. When the steam has escaped completely open the black beans and drain any water remaining. Keep aside. Beans should be soft (you should be able to mash them between two fingers) yet retain their shape. If they feel hard give one or two more whistles.
• You can use beans and veggies of choice. Preferably cut them in same size to match the beans.
• Corn or flour tortilla can be used.
• You can use homemade Red Enchilada Sauce or even store bought.   

That’s it, our colorful and tasty Vegetarian Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas are ready. Serve with some sour cream and guacamole on the side or drizzled on top. Enjoy!!

Happy Cooking!!
Shweta